Religion briefs

Monday

Catholic Mobile has announced it is now offering Christmas ringtones and wallpapers to help users prepare for the Christmas season.

As a way of helping users to enter more deeply into the Advent and Christmas seasons, Catholic Mobile is offering ringtones such as "Jingle Bells," "The First Noel," "Oh Christmas Tree, "Little Drummer Boy" and many other favorites, as well as wallpapers, that can be downloaded at www. catholicmobile.com.

The initiative aims to help users live the true spirit of Advent and Christmas.

More information can be found at www.catholicmobile.com.

Palestinian troops to deploy in Bethlehem

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK • Palestinian officials say President Mahmoud Abbas wants to deploy about 900 troops to Bethlehem to maintain order during Christmas celebrations, and is asking Israel to let the reinforcements stay on after the holiday.

Abbas is trying to strengthen his grip on the West Bank and show that his forces can keep the peace.

Israel, which retains overall security control, confirmed the Christmas deployment. The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the request to let the Palestinian troops extend their presence.

Officials in Bethlehem are expecting a good Christmas season. They say a surge in tourism since 2006 has created 12,000 new jobs in Bethlehem, biblical Jericho and the city of Ramallah.

Atheist billboard removed

An atheist billboard was taken down in California after complaints from residents.

The "Imagine No Religion" sign was put up in San Bernardino County by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a group that advocates the separation of church and state.

More than 90 people complained about the billboard, forcing the General Outdoor sign company to remove it.

The city said they did not demand the company take the sign down but that they "respected the concerns of residents."

"The city has no business suggesting our billboard be censored," she said. "They're not allowed to interfere over religious controversy."

Gaylor claims the billboard was only meant to spark debate by using lyrics from a John Lennon song.

The group has several billboards posted across eight states. Other signs read "Reasons Greetings" and "Beware of Dogma."

Man killed had church ties

LOS ANGELES • Los Angeles police say a man who was shot and killed after waving a pair of Samurai swords at a Hollywood Scientology building had a previous relationship to the church.

Detective Wendi Berndt says 48-year-old Mario Majorski of Oregon was shot as he tried to attack guests at the Scientology Celebrity Centre. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Berndt says Majorski was known to the security guards and had been involved in prior incidents.

Police are treating the shooting as justifiable because it was done to protect the lives of others.

Evangelist's jet denied tax-exempt status

FORT WORTH, TEXAS • An appraisal review board in Fort Worth, Texas, has ruled that Kenneth Copeland Ministries' $3.6 million jet does not have tax-exempt status.

The Tarrant appraisal district denied a protest filed by the televangelist's attorneys because the ministry refused to release salaries of its directors, including Copeland, his wife and other ministers.

Copeland's lawyers say the ministry, also known as Eagle Mountain International Church, will consider its legal options. They add that revealing ministers' salaries should be a concern to all churches.

Copeland is among six large televangelists whose organizations are targets of a Senate Finance Committee investigation into allegations of questionable spending and lax financial accountability.

Moss's son is pastor at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, where Obama worshipped. Rev. Otis Moss III replaced Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Gay Group Organizes 'Pink Christmas'

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS • A Dutch gay group says it's planning a "Pink Christmas" festival for the first time in Amsterdam, featuring a manger stall with actors depicting two Josephs and two Marys.

ProGay chairman Frank van Dalen says the event is not intended to be offensive, but is meant as a "wink" at heterosexual assumptions.

Other attractions in the 10-day festival are to include parties, gaythemed films and religious services on Christmas Day.

An organization called Christians for Truth urged the city to cancel the event. The group says, "By putting Joseph and Mary down as homosexuals, a cracked human fantasy is being tacked on to history from the Bible."

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